This specification relates to tracking phone calls related to online content items, such as phone calls made in response to online advertising.
Advertisers provide advertisements in different forms in order to attract consumers. An advertisement (“ad”) is a piece of information designed to be used in whole or in part by a user, such as a particular consumer. Ads can be provided in electronic form. For example, online ads can be provided as banner ads on a web page, as ads presented with search results, or as ads presented in a mobile application.
Advertisers are interested in how effectively their online campaigns generate sales leads. Apart from online purchases, many advertisers close their business over phone calls or consider phone calls as strong sales leads. For some businesses, customers who pick up the phone and make a call after viewing an online ad may be ten times more likely to make a purchase than customers who click on a link.